I learned this today. Quarks are elementary particles that make up the fundamental constituents of matter. Everything that has matter in the universe is made up of atoms. The screen you are reading this on is made of glass (probably), which is basically silica. Silica has one silicon atom with bonds to four […]
#214 What is a quark? Read More »
I learned this today. FOXP2 is known as the language gene. FOXP2 stands for Forkhead box protein P2. Forkhead box proteins bind to a specific DNA sequence to control the rate of information. They are important for cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, and longevity. They, and all of the forkhead box proteins, have a
#213 What is the language gene, FOXP2? Read More »
I learned this today. The Higgs boson is an elementary particle associated with the Higgs field. The Higgs field is an energy field that transmits mass to the things that move through it. A boson is a particle that carries a force and energy. Bosons are at the route of the fundamental forces,
#212 What is a Higgs boson? Read More »
I learned this today. A dwarf galaxy is a galaxy with 1000 to a few billion stars. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, has between 200 and 400 billion stars. Dwarf galaxies tend to orbit larger galaxies. There are at least 14 satellite dwarf galaxies orbiting the Milky Way right now. They are the most
#211 What is a dwarf galaxy? Read More »
I learned this today. We all age and there are nine problems that aging causes in humans. These are DNA mutations, faulty gene expressions, shortening telomeres, the build up of faulty proteins, worn out cells don’t die, mitochondria become faulty, metabolism becomes faulty, stem cells become exhausted, and cells lose the ability to communicate with
#210 What problems does aging in humans cause? Read More »
I learned this today. Statins work by blocking a substance that our bodies need to make cholesterol. What is cholesterol? Cholesterol is a waxy, whitish-yellow fatty substance that our bodies use to build cells, make vitamin D, and make hormones, and fat dissolving acids. It is an essential part of our bodies. A 68 kg,
#209 How do statins work? Read More »
I learned this today. Cows combine nutrients from their blood, sugar, fat, and water in their udders to produce milk. All mammals, except for monotremes (like the duck billed platypus) produce milk. In all but one case the milk is produced by the female mammal. The only male mammal that produces milk is the Dayak
#208 How do cows produce milk? Read More »
I learned this today. The gambler’s fallacy is the belief that a random event is more or less likely to happen based on the outcome of a previous event. For example, if a coin is flipped ten times and it comes up heads ten times, the gambler will believe that heads is less likely on
#207 What is the gambler’s fallacy? Read More »
I learned this today. Different things have different tastes because the taste buds in our mouths can react to different chemicals in different ways. There are basically five tastes. Those are sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami. Umami is another word for “savory” and the fact that we can taste for it was discovered
#206 Why do things taste different? Read More »
I learned this today. The first postage stamp was issued by the post office in Britain on May 1st, 1840. Like most inventions, the postage stamp was invented to solve a problem. That problem was that post in Britain was paid for by the recipient and not the sender. Before the invention of the stamp,
#205 When was the first stamp? Read More »
